Road grooving machine



June 10, 1941. H, TYSON 2,244,742

ROAD GROOVING MACHINE Filed larch 19, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. l/ARRY TYSON ATTORNbiY.

June 10, 1941. TY ON 2,244,742

1161113 GROOVING MACHINE Filed larch is, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HA R R Y TYSON ATTORNEY.

Patented June 10, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROAD GROOVING MACHINE Harry Tyson, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application March 19, 19-10, Serial No. 324,772

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a road grooving machine.

Due to weather conditions road pavements, particularly after having been laid for a while, will beworn smooth. This smoothness induces skidding in motor vehicle trailic thus setting up a serious traffic menace. Naturally this conditionwi-ll be more evident and more dangerous on hills, sharp curves and road intersections.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple machine that will efficiently cut a plurality of series of parallel grooves in the hardened surface of a road. These grooves are preferably disposed in angular relation to each other and thus a roughened surface is provided which'will greatly increase traction and help to eliminate perilous skidding.

Numerous other objects and advantages will become apparent as this specification proceeds. Referring to the drawings forming a part thereof and in which one form of the invention is ilnumeral l designates the mainframe of the] :35, machine.

channel cross-section welded or otherwise se-[ The numbers of this frame may be of cured together or the frame might be constructed in any conventional manner.

The frame I!) has front wheels H having a suitable steering apparatus 12, the operating handle of which is indicated at l3. The rear wheels H! are secured to an axle 15 mounted in bearings IE on the frame and the axle I is driven by mechanism hereinafter described.

A power plant is mounted on the forward part of the frame under a casing IT and it may be of any desired nature. As indicated in broken lines in Figs. 1 and 2 a conventional internal combustion engine I8 is shown. The well known transmission is mounted in the housing l9 and is controlled by the gear shift lever 20. A clutch in a housing 2| and having an operating handle 22 is interposed in the drive shaft 23 and the drive shaft has the usual universal joint 24.

Secured to the rear end of the drive shaft 23 is a bevel gear 25 which meshes another bevel 23 mounted on a transverse shaft 21 which is carried in suitable bearings 28 supported on the main frame. A sprocket 29 is secured to the transverse shaft 21.

A sprocket chain 30 connects the sprocket 29 with another sprocket 3| mounted in a cutter shaft 32 and acts as a driving connection for said shaft. A plurality of cutter discs 33 are keyed to the shaft 32. The cutters 33 are preferablyequidistantly spaced on the shaft 32 as illustrated in Fig. 1 and with this arrangement are adapted to cut a series of parallel grooves 34 in the road surface. The machine is moved as each set of grooves is completed and then other sets of parallel grooves 35 are cut in angular relation to the first sets giving the road surface the effect illustrated in Fig. 5. Obviously this is only one example as the arrangements of grooves may be widely varied.

The machine is also applicable to cutting a set of two parallel grooves in a road surface where it is desired to remove part of the road surface as in digging a trench. This arrangement is shown in Fig. 4 where all the cutters have been removed except two.

The cutter shaft 33 is mounted in bearings 36 adjustably secured to the underside of supporting members 31. As will be apparent from an inspection of the drawings the shaft 32 with its cutters 33 may be moved toward or away from the rear of the machine and rows of apertures 38 are utilized for securing the bearings 36 in their adjusted positions. It is contemplated to make the machine with one or more shafts 32, each having a set of cutting discs and in order to accomplish more efficient results in cutting the grooves adjacent a curb the shafts 32 are spaced apart, one behind the other. This arrangement is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 6 in which the reference numeral 4i] designates the curb line, 4| the carriage and 42-42 the shafts with the cutting discs 43 mounted thereon, It will be apparent from Fig. 6 that by dividing the shafts or providing more than one shaft the grooves may be cut closer to the curb than with one long shaft.

Means are also provided to raise or lower the shaft 32 and the cutting discs 33 so that grooves of different depths may be cut. The supporting members 31 are riveted or otherwise secured at 45 to an angle 46 extending across the rear end of the machine. The short horizontal leg of the angle 46 is cut off at the ends leaving extensions 41 of the long vertical leg. These extensions cooperate with guides formed by angles 49 depending from and secured to the main frame It].

Threaded blocks or nuts 49 are suitably secured in the rear end of the frame it] and threaded rods 59 engage the nuts 49. Cranks 5| are secured to the upper ends of these rods and balls 52 are secured to or formed on the lower ends. The balls 52 cooperate with sockets 53 secured to the vertical leg of the angle 46. It will thus be evident that rotation of the crank handles 5! will raise or lower the shaft 32 and its cutting discs in relation to the frame of the machine.

A tank 55 for water or other cooling fluid is suitably located on the machine, A pipe or conduit 56 connects the tank to a manifold 51 which in turn has a series of flexible tube 58 for leading the cooling fluid to each one of the cutting discs. The tank has an inlet 59 which may be connected to a hose or other suitable supply.

It will be apparent that the cutting discs 33 are positively driven. One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a means for driving or moving the machine which will be more Or less flexible so as to always insure the proper functioning of the cutting discs or in other words to make certain that if the machine is adjusted to out a groove of an inch in depth, this depth of groove will always be out. In cutting grooves in road pavements, particularly in concrete or cement, hard spots will always occur. Therefore if one attempts to synchronize the drive of the machine with the speed of rotation of the cutters, in a road surface where there are practically few or no hard spots the speed and efiiciency of the machine is greatly lowered or the cutters will slide over the surface of the hard spots or out the grooves only a fraction of the required depth. Thus having a positive drive for the cutters and a flexible drive for the carriage, the carriage will only advance after the grooves have been cut to their required depth or in other words the speed of the movement of the carriage is controlled by the proper functioning of the cutters regardless of whether hard spots occur in the surface of the pavement or not.

An air turbine drive has been found to be particularly efficient in accomplishing the foregoing beneficial result. The turbine may be driven from power taken off the motor IE or a separate motor may be provided if desired.

A pulley 60 is secured to the drive shaft 23 and a belt 6! places this pulley in driving connection with another pulley 52 mounted on the shaft of a compressor 63. A pipe connection 64 leads from the compressor to a storage tank 55 and the storage tank is provided with the usual gage t6 and blow off safety valve 61. A pipe line 58 leads from the storage tank to the turbine 65!. The turbine is of usual construction, the body being secured to the frame Hi as shown in Fig. 1 and the rotor being fast to the axle l5. A valve E in the pipe line 68 controls the air supply to the turbine.

Such changes in details of construction and arrangements of parts as would occur to one skilled in the art are to be considered as comi within the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A road grooving machine for cutting grooves in concrete, said machine having in combination, a frame, a transverse shaft supported on said frame, a plurality of spaced cutting discs carried by said shaft, means whereby said shaft and its cutting discs may be raised or lowered in relation to said frame, a motor mounted on said frame, driving connections between said motor and said shaft, an axle carried by said frame, driving wheels on said axle, an air turbine for turning said axle so as to rotate said driving wheels, a storage tank for supplying air to said turbine, a line connecting said storage tank and said turbine, a valve in said line, a compressor for compressing air in said storage tank, and means for operating said compressor, the speed of movement of said carriage being controlled by the proper functioning of said cutting discs.

2. A road grooving machine for cutting grooves in concrete, said machine having in combination, 5 a frame, a transverse shaft supported on said frame, a plurality of spaced cutting discs carried by said shaft, means whereby said shaft and its cutting discs may be raised or lowered in relation to said frame, a motor mounted on said frame,

driving connections between said motor and said shaft, .an axle carried by said frame, driving wheels on said axle, an air turbine for turning said axle so as to rotate said driving wheels, a

storage tank for supplying air to said turbine, a

line connecting said storage tank and said turbine, a valve in said line a compressor for compressing air in said storage tank, and a driving connection between said motor and said compressor for operating said compressor, the speed of movement of said carriage being controlled .by the proper functioning of said cutting discs.

3. A road grooving machine for cuttinggrooves in concrete, said machine having'in combination,

a carriage, a transverse shaft, a plurality of spaced cutting discs carried by said shaft, a supporting member for said shaft, guides secured to said carriage for said supportingv member,

means for raising and lowering said supporting member and said shaft and its cutting discs in sdrelation to said carriage, a motor mounted on said carriage, driving connections between said motor and said shaft, an axle carried by said carriage, driving wheels on said axle, an air turbine for turning said axle so as to rotate said 55 driving wheels, a storage tank for supplying air to said turbine, a line connecting said storage tank and said turbine, a valve in said line, a

compressor for compressing air in said storage r tank, and means for operating said compressor,

the speed of movement of said carriage being con trolled by the proper functioning of said cutting discs.

HARRY TYSON. 

